Holiday Gift Guide: The Best Luxury Candles For the Home

December 1, 2016

I have a gift guide roundup including some of my favorite candles for the home this holiday. I love those warm and cozy feel good scents this time of year. Pine and spice scents are always fun to give the ultimate Christmas kind of vibe, but if you’re not into those kinds of scents there are still lots of other options that are great for holiday. If you don’t want your house to smell like a pine tree or pumpkin, but still want something for your home or for a gift, I’ve rounded up alternatives for you.

The cutest luxury set this year is the Jo Malone Christmas Miniature Candle Collection ($110 for 5 candles, 1.2 oz each). This is definitely quite the splurge but comes packaged in a beautiful box that looks like a small tent box. The throw on these is phenomenal even though they are small. It contains Sweet Almond and Macaroon, Green Tomato Leaf, Frosted Cherry and Clove, Pomegranate Noir, Peony and Blush Suede.

Byredo carries some of the most expensive candles on the luxury beauty market. I’ve splurged on a few here and there and love them, but the price is something that holds me back from trying them all (otherwise I would). If you’re shopping for someone who already has almost everything Byredo have some unique options that I think are great.

This year they’ve introduced three candles in a gorgeous color glass version at $85 each. Fleur Fantôme and Cotton Poplin are my favorites for their soft relaxing feel and I ordered those immediately to add some color and life to our home. Bibliothèque is also available in a green tinted version (this one smells like a sweeter version of Bal D’Afrique perfume). Another thing they’ve brought back this year are minis! (I reviewed three a year ago here.) The minis run at $35 each and right now they have them in Fleur Fantôme, Bohemia, Cotton Poplin, Tree House and Bibliothèque. For those new to the brand, you can find Byredo at Neiman Marcus, Barneys’s New York and Net-A-Porter.

The white frosted ones from last year are also still available, Figue Glacée ($95) is my favorite as I love fig scents and this one has red currant, whipped vanilla cream, violet, bamboo and sandalwood mixed in. The other two Prune Glacée and Cassis Glacée are both very sweet.

Le Labo x Violet Grey have done a collaboration to launch a special exclusive of the Santal 26 Candle which comes in a beautiful black glass jar instead of the clear ones. The scent is still the same as the clear one, both are named Santal which has notes including amber, vanilla, cedar, musk and sandalwood. It has an earthy almost raw feel. Another great sandalwood home scent is the Molton Brown Coco and Sandalwood line. I own this scent in every option including the hand cream, shower gel, room spray and body lotion. The candle gives all kinds of cozy warm vibes. You can find the candle in a Single Wick ($49) version or Three Wick ($74) version.

Diptyque is always fun during the holiday. I think their pine scent is the best one that comes out each year. This year’s special edition candles come in a Holiday Candle Trio ($100) with minis that has Sparkling Incense, Delicious Spices and Festive Fir Tree. My favorite is the blue one Sparking Incense which has cloves, vanilla and incense. Quite a few of you asked for other recommendations as some mentioned you were disappointed in this year’s holiday options. Noisetier ($32 to $62) is hazelnut which is a warm and sweet scent but it’s not overly sweet. It has a mix of fruity and woody in it as well making it a delicious option. Vanille ($32 to $62) is another option, it’s a different kind of smoky vanilla. I didn’t really love it at first, it’s one that took me a while to get used to, but it’s a cozy option. To date the best vanilla scent is Henri Bendel’s Vanilla Bean – it’s not too sweet which is my biggest issue with most vanilla based candles.

Hope you enjoyed this roundup of some of my favorites! If I had to pick just three to burn the rest of the month, my top picks would be Antica Farmacista Champagne Black Label, Molton Brown Coco and Sandalwood and Diptyque Noisetier.

Do you have any favorite holiday scents for the home? Let me know in the comments!

Press samples included from Lumira, Molton Brown and Antica Farmacista.

Where do you purchase your Lumira candles? I noticed that they’re an Australian company, but I didn’t see a stockists list on their website.

Thanks!

Almira

Hi Joanna, We are in a few stores now in the US. Shoppe by AI, Babalu, Patrica, Vert & Vogue, Broome St General Store to name a few. You can email me for any further questions almira@atelierlumira.com Kindest Almira

Evelyn

I have a huge weakness for candles, I want them all! lol Good think the little Diptyque boutique is near the Jo Malone one in Grand Central. 😉

Emily

In all honesty, I think Diptyque’s holiday packaging this year is beyond awful. I loved last year’s so much but I don’t even know what they were thinking with those jars. The red one with the gingerbread man is hideous and genuinely sort of creepy (of course it has to be the one with the most appealing scent, sigh). But they all just look very kitschy and cheap. I ended up buying the Christmas themed set of five minis in the normal jars and I am happy with that purchase – they’re very well chosen and I’m glad an alternative was offered!

Just curious though…Am I the only one who isn’t a fan of this year’s Diptyque packaging or does anyone else find it off putting as well?

On a more positive note, I love the Cire Trudon Gabriel candle – it’s absolutely heavenly and the green frosted jar is stunning. I like the coloured jars which Byredo has put out as well. Bibliothèque is one of my all time favourites!

Amanda Hollingsworth

The Jo Malone round is also exceptional value……bought individually those 5 mini candles would have cost £110 but in the round is £66 but good luck if you can find it because it told out in U.K. almost immediately. I literally scooped up a couple as they were put onto the display stand in Selfridges and I never saw them available again and they have been sold out on Jo Malone.

Very traditionally I always buy the Pine & Eucalyptus Candle and Diffuser from Jo Malone. From Diptyque the Christmas Pine candle has the best throw so I always get that too despite this year’s horrible packaging but add Diptyque Eucalyptus to the mix and you get 380g of combined Diptyque power. The Jo Malone candle and diffuser I have in my dining room with the Christmas tree, the Diptyque candles I have in my hallway and so visitors to the house get a lovely welcome of traditional Christmas.

I’m having a bit of a hate relationship with Cire Trudon at the moment. I’m not convinced the throw is as good as it used to be and I’m finding the scents too subtle. I don’t want to be over powered but I don’t want to have to stand in a room and sniff to find the scent.

my absolute favorite winter candle is Cire Trudon’s Ernesto. it is perfection and the best smelling candle i have ever experienced. i wish i could find something as special as Ernesto for the warmer months. it is soooooooo good!

Kris

Can I just have all the Jo Malone candles? haha
I am actually obsessed with them.

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